Former Patriot Ben Coates, being pursued by the Jets’ Mo Lewis (57) in 1998, ranks second in franchise history with 50 touchdowns, third with 490 catches and fourth with 5,471 yards.

AP / Matt York

The first prominent player of Robert Kraft’s time as owner of the New England Patriots and a member of the group who helped take the Patriots from perennial also-rans to NFL standard bearer will become the 13th member of the franchise’s Hall of Fame.

Ben Coates, the five-time Pro Bowl tight end, was announced yesterday as the fans’ choice for induction in 2008.

Coates, who played for nine seasons with the Patriots, beat out running back Jim Nance and offensive lineman Jon Morris for the honor. Last year, Kraft decided to let fans make the ultimate decision on the annual class of one; a selection group of media, Pats alumni and team officials narrow the list to three finalists in the spring.

“Around 11:30 this morning, I talked to Mr. Kraft and he told me that I was the nominee. I was thrilled,” Coates said yesterday from his South Carolina home.

Coates was runner-up to receiver Stanley Morgan last year, and said there was no one he’d rather come in second to than his “homeboy” and fellow South Carolinian.

“We are looking forward to honoring Ben for all of his many accomplishments as a Patriot. He gave us all some wonderful memories during his career and our fans are eager to honor him as the franchise’s 13th hall-of-famer,” Kraft said in a statement.

The Patriots’ fifth-round pick out of tiny Livingstone College (Salisbury, N.C.) in 1991, Coates’ first two seasons with New England were uneventful: the 6-foot-5, 245-pounder had 30 catches and 4 touchdowns as the Pats sputtered to an 8-24 overall mark.

But two arrivals in 1993 changed things for both Coates and the Patriots: Bill Parcells and Drew Bledsoe.

As a coach, Parcells was known for relying on tight ends; quarterback Bledsoe, the No. 1 overall pick, had a big arm and an immediate rapport with Coates.

“I think (playing for Parcells) helped out a lot, but what helped out more than anything was Drew Bledsoe,” Coates said. “We clicked together and the coaching staff went with it and it paid off right away.”

Coates led the Patriots with 53 receptions in Bledsoe’s rookie year, the first of five seasons Coates would lead the club. He earned his first Pro Bowl nod in 1994, when he had a then-franchise record 96 catches for 1,174 yards. At the time, that was also a league record for a tight end.

“If you were in the flat, he still threw it 100 miles an hour, but he knew he had someone he could depend on,” Coates said of Bledsoe. “He knew where I was going to be at all times. I guess it worked out hand-in-hand — for him and for me.”

Despite his own gaudy statistics, Coates said yesterday his most memorable moment as a Patriot was when the team made it to Super Bowl XXXI.

“I wish we had won it, but coming from ’91 to ’96, going from the bottom and to get to the Super Bowl, that is something I will always remember,” he said.

Coates was released after the 1999 season while ranking second in franchise history with 50 touchdowns, third with 490 catches and fourth with 5,471 yards. All of those marks are Patriots’ bests for a tight end. Coates spent the 2000 season with Baltimore before calling it a career.

Coates said he speaks to Bledsoe about once a month, and also keeps in touch with former teammates Bruce Armstrong, Andre Tippett and Ray Agnew.

Speaking of Tippett, with the linebacker finally getting his bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame next month, Coates, named to the NFL’s all-decade team for the 1990s, believes it’s just a matter of time before he gets the call to Canton as well.

He makes a good case. Of the seven tight ends in the Pro Football Hall, only Ozzie Newsome (662) and Kellen Winslow Sr. (541) had more career catches than Coates’ 499.

Now coaching high school football and working at an alternative school in South Carolina, Coates said he would like to return to the NFL to coach tight ends and ultimately help someone to be an even better player than he was at the position.

Coates will be enshrined this fall during ceremonies in the new Hall at Patriot Place; the team will honor its other 12 hall-of-famers during the festivities.

smanza@projo.com